Learn About Office Recycling and How to Recycle at Work

Recycling System

Recycling at work can be as easy as recycling at home. It can reduce your businesses carbon impact and reduce business costs. Here are some tips to set up a recycling system in your workplace:

1. Start by doing a rough audit of the amount of waste generated, type and costs associated with it.
2. Get your waste collector involved in helping to design and set up the systems for you by providing the main bins for collection by their trucks.
3. Appoint an office recycling champion or coordinator. This person will take ownership and responsibility for implementing and monitoring your office recycling progress.
4. Hold information seminars for employees to help them understand the rationale behind the office recycling systems and what you require them to do.
5. Host a recycling day or an environmental event to launch any new recycling scheme. Some Repak members have held a desk recycling amnesty to encourage staff to recycle as much as they can from their desks.
6. Train staff to recognise and understand the different materials that can and cannot be included in your recycling collection.
7. Don't over complicate things by having lots of recycling bins and separating everything. This can often lead to low acceptance of the recycling initiative by staff.
8. Put a list or poster above your recycling bins identifying what can be recycled in each bin.
9. Position recycling bins in convenient places, so it's as easy to recycle as it is to throw away.
10. Save paper by only printing what you need to print and encourage colleagues to do the same by adding a message to the bottom of your email.
    
11. To reduce the excessive printing of e-mails and documents remove personal printers and centralise printing within the office.
12. Download the office recycling poster here

For simplicity we would recommend a maximum four bin types for an office recycling system, but these would not necessarily be placed in all locations.

1. Recycling bin for all non confidential mixed dry recyclables.
2. General waste collection system for all residual waste.
3. Compostable waste bins for canteen or kitchen use only
4. Compostable waste bins for canteen or kitchen use only

Visit the different work rooms for advice from employees on what can be recycled in the different areas of the office.

Finally regularly monitor and review your performance relative to the past remember what gets measured gets acted upon.

Media Gallery

Watch recycling videos, browse our recycling photos and listen to recycling news.

Carbon Calculator

Use our carbon calculator to find out what your carbon footprint is.